Finances top concern of new Atlanta council members

Revenues are below projections. Pension costs are high. Homeowners want more police patrolling their neighborhoods.

The city’s finances appear to be the primary focus of the new members. Adrean, Wan and Watson are financial analysts or certified public accountants. Bond runs his own consulting firm. The other new member, Bottoms, is an attorney and has served as a judge.

“It’s going to be an important time to have some people with financial acumen,” said Georgia State University professor Harvey Newman, who has studied Atlanta city government.

Adrean has already lobbied city officials for information about city finances. Bottoms and Watson support “zero-based budgeting,” which requires department directors to justify every dollar they spend.

“We can’t be afraid to try new things,” said Bottoms.

Wan, a former Atlanta Development Authority board member, and Bottoms both say they want to boost economic development in south and west Atlanta.

Bond, who served on the council from 1994 to 2001, said he wants the city to consider reverting back to managing its books on a calendar year schedule. Bond thinks it’s better for City Hall to be in line with Fulton County, which collects property taxes for Atlanta and passes it along to the city. Atlanta’s budget year is from July 1 to June 30.

The five new members replace Lisa Borders, Anne Fauver, Jim Maddox, Clair Muller and Mary Norwood. Ceasar Mitchell gave up his council seat to win election as council president, the job held by Borders.

The new council members are a combined 86 years younger than those departing City Hall. The departing members, however, had a combined 73 years of experience on the council. Maddox spent 32 years on the council, more time than anyone in the city’s history.

The current council has been criticized for not paying enough attention to the city’s finances. Many of them were surprised in January 2008 when Mayor Shirley Franklin announced the city was facing a $70 million shortfall, which she largely blamed on the economic recession. The mayor and her staff also admitted some errors and longstanding budgetary practices contributed to the problems.

Many are watching to see which council members Mitchell selects to lead and serve on the committees that review policies and proposals from council members and the mayor’s office.

Former Council member “Able” Mable Thomas said the new members will come to City Hall with great enthusiasm to make significant reforms. She noted that many councils, including hers, often ceded power to the mayor’s office because they lost sight of stated goals. Newman, of Georgia State, believes the council’s relationship with Mayor-elect Kasim Reed will be key. Reed, a former state senator, told the council in a brief speech earlier this month that he considers them a “co-equal” branch of government.

Newman suspects Reed’s state background will make him more likely to strike deals with the council than outgoing Mayor Shirley Franklin, who was a former administrator before taking office. Newman said Franklin seemed averse to horse-trading.

Thomas said she hopes the new council will work harder on reducing the number of abandoned homes in the city as well as creating more jobs.

Bottoms said she wants to help create more economic development in her southwest Atlanta district. She noted the October closing of the movie theater at Greenbriar Mall.

“You have many people who’ve lived (in the community) for 30, 40 and 50 years who’ve stuck with the community,” Bottoms said. “The community needs to stick with them.”